Islam Our Choice: Portraits of Modern American Muslim Women

by Debra L. Dirks, Stephanie Parlove (Editor)

An increasing number of American women are embracing Islam, already over one million converts. These are modern American women born and brought up in America to non-Muslim parents. They have journeyed down the path of Islam without giving up their American heritage and found liberation and self-actualization by becoming Muslims. "This book presents the personal accounts of six American Muslim women who have been kind enough to share their first-person stories of the winding roads they traveled en-route to embracing Islam. In giving their personal portrayals of their individual journeys to Islam, some of these sisters-in-Islam have publicly proclaimed far more about their personal lives than they normally would be willing to share. In essence, they have sacrificed some of their personal privacy, as well as some of their normal reticence and modesty about their personal and private lives.Being American sisters-in-Islam does not mean that we are any less zealous than other Americans in cherishing our rights as Americans, and it does not mean that we are any less patriotic...

What the authors... share with other modern women in America is immense, and cannot be easily overstated... However, despite all the things that we share with our fellow Americans who are non-Muslims, what we have come to share with our worldwide sisters-in-Islam is especially sweet and appealing. While each of us remains an American, we are Americans who have joined a very special and caring sisterhood that transcends biological inheritance, personal genetics, ethnicity, race, and socioeconomic status. We have come to understand and to love the fact that what is important is individual righteousness, notsuperfluous consid

Genres: Islam

304 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2003

Reviews

[Tuscany Bernier · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book. As a convert, it felt really nice (almost like a relief?) to read similar experiences of women like myself. There were stories that were conservative, liberal, domestic, international, multi-racial...just a wide variety of American women and their stories. Reading this book felt like a hug from an old friend.

[Jennifer Olson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a convert to Islam I found this a really beautiful book showing how different women came to Islam and how it fit into their lives. Some of the stories were lengthy and wandered a lot, but it also kept the authentic voice of the narrators.

[Shaheena · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for all Muslims

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well put together anthology of stories from women who have converted to Islam, talking about their journey, their struggles and their transformations. Would recommend.